1. Field of the Disclosure
The disclosure relates to an apparatus for use in an electroetching or an electrodeposition process, and an electroetching or an electrodeposition process.
2. Description of the Related Art
The disclosure relates to an apparatus for use in an electroetching or an electrodeposition process, and an electroetching or an electrodeposition process.
The metallurgical structure of metal components are commonly inspected by non-destructive means to determine their quality. For example, an aircraft component such as a gas turbine disc may be inspected for material and machining anomalies. Typically, before inspecting the metallurgical structure a surface layer of the component is removed by electroetching.
In a previously considered electroetching process, to enable surface preparation, a component is physically attached to an anode and is immersed in a electrolytic solution contained within a tank which acts as a cathode. When a voltage is applied across the anode/cathode, the component acts as an anode due to the physical electrical connection. As such, material is etched from its surface. Whilst such a process may be satisfactory, it may be labour intensive and it may be difficult to uniformly etch the surface of the component.